Dearest Loki
by 9mouse9
Summary: She certainly wasn't a goddess. That was for sure. But she was there for him, and so he started to think that maybe Thor had been right all along.
1. Dances and Drinks

He wasn't sure why he was there.

It was a Stark party, granted, and he had been invited, granted, but that didn't mean he actually had to _come_. He didn't know entirely what convinced him, though it was probably Thor.

One good thing about these types of parties, though, was that there were always so many people it was impossible _not _to blend in. Unless, of course, you were Tony Stark or one of his friends of the center of attention. Loki was not very much for mingling. There were few people he tolerated, even fewer he liked, and a party—a _Stark_ party at that—was not the environment to be in if you weren't a social person. Mostly he just hung around near the walls in the corner, nursing a glass of champagne and not saying or doing much of anything.

Today's party was only the second he'd been to, and the first he'd been formally invited to. He planned to enjoy himself doing nothing. His plans were foiled though, of course. Foiled by a girl with deep brown hair and light brown skin whom he did not hate.

She bumped into him, spilling his champagne on them both, apologizing profusely as she went to get some napkins. As soon as he saw her, he knew she was different that the other socialites all vying for the attention of Tony Stark. Call him corny, but it was the truth. And not in a romantic way either. It was just something he observed. For one thing, she wasn't dressed in the same skimpy, all-too-revealing outfits as the rest of the partygoers. She wore a modest, knee-high grey dress and a sweater. For another thing, she wasn't in the middle of the dance floor or in the pool or trying to catch the eye of Tony. She seemed to be floating around on the outskirts of the party, much like Loki himself. When she returned with the napkins, he asked her name.

She looked at him. "Alice," she said.

"Well, Alice, thank you for the napkins—" He cut himself off, about to say that he could dry himself off, but decided he actually quite liked Alice doing so for him.

"Hm?"

"Uh, nothing. Never mind."

"Yeah, um, sorry again about that, by the way."

"It's fine," Loki said, waving a hand dismissively. "You've already apologized quite enough, and I feel, in any case, that you've made up for it by...er...drying me off."

"Well, I mean, yeah, but you were wearing a nice suit and—"

"I _was_?"

Alice grinned. "You _are _wearing a nice suit, only now it's covered in champagne."

"Ah, but so is your dress."

Alice looked down at her dress, as if for the first time realizing that it had gotten wet as well, then shrugged. "It'll dry."

"So will my suit."

Alice blinked. She stood up fully and crossed her arms. "Touché." She smirked and started trying to dry herself off.

"Let me help," Loki offered, getting some napkins.

"Oh, no, it's fine," Alice said, though she looked like she was struggling.

"I insist. You helped me with my outfit, I'll help you with yours. It'll be my way of repaying you."

"Well, alright then," she said. Loki began drying her off, though much of it was already dry from the time she'd spent drying him. "I'm sorry, I just realized I never got your name."

Loki looked up at her. "You apologize a lot."

"Oh. Sorry—I mean…oh."

Loki laughed. "My name is Loki."

"Well, thank you, Loki." She paused. "May I ask what you're doing here? No offense, but you don't seem like you come to parties often."

"That's because I don't. There, that's about as dry as it's going to get. But anyhow, I've only ever been invited to a few parties before, so…"

"Thanks," she said, throwing away the napkins. "Only a few? Why? You seem like the life of the party."

He raised an eyebrow.

"A joke. I-it was a joke."

"Oh, of course," Loki said, mentally face palming.

"So, Loki…um…what do you like to—"

Then Thor appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, to whisk Loki away. "Come dance, brother! It is such fun out there!" He grabbed Loki's arm and pulled him out onto the floor.

"Oh…bye then…" Alice said.

Loki opened his mouth to reply, but by the time he'd formulated a sentence, he was already amid the excitement of the rest of the party, with Alice nowhere to be seen.

"I was in the middle of a conversation, brother." Loki muttered, annoyed.

"Were you? I didn't notice. Was it with that young lady you were standing near?"

"Yes! Who else? Myself?"

"I suppose not, it's just hard to believe that a lady that fair would want to hold a conversation with you!"

Loki pressed a hand to his heart in mock offense. "That hurt, brother." To tell the truth, it didn't hurt at all. First, Thor was clearly intoxicated, and Loki was told things like that all the time. Besides, it was a small talk type of thing; what else are strangers supposed to do when drying champagne off each other?

The music blared, and Thor started to do some weird dance that was, quite frankly, sad to watch, so Loki decided to sit down somewhere. As he did, the music volume lowered a bit as Tony Stark took a mic and stood in front of the crowd. Voices quieted as he started to speak. "Thank you all for coming, it means a lot."

Sure, it did.

"This party is dedicated to my good friends, the Avengers. If you're an Avenger here, please raise you hand so we can acknowledge you!"

Some hands went up, a few of which Loki recognized—Natasha Romanoff, Bruce Banner, Thor (of course), even Steve Rogers. Stark pointed in all their directions and the crowds cheered wildly. Loki found himself clapping to a few but grew tired quickly and went outside. Finally. Some quiet.

He sat on a bench and tried to give himself some time to collect his thoughts. Thoughts which were interrupted. Not like he was expecting much less. At first, he was annoyed, then the voice that had spoken to him registered in his mind. Alice. He looked up.

"Hey. Too loud for you, too?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, I know the feeling. You're, like, the only sane person here."

Loki smiled. "Thank you. I think. I'm not sure if that was a compliment."

"Oh, believe me-it was. Even my sister's gone crazy, and she's the most down-to-Earth person I know." Alice sighed and sat next to him.

"Did she get drunk or something? So did my brother."

"Exactly. Who's your brother?"

"…Thor."

"Thor? As in, like, _the Avenger Thor_?" Alice's eyes widened.

Loki sighed. "That's the one."

"Oh, sorry if I sound like I'm overexcited or anything, I just…the Avengers are great." She paused. "O-oh, but you're great, too," she added quickly.

"Nah, I'm okay with it. I've been hearing it my entire life. I'm like his shadow."

"Oh, I know how you feel. My sister is always the center of attention. I've always been a good student, I played sports, I loved to read, I was in the drama club. But I guess she did it first, so I'm not as significant. Plus, I'm adopted, so if she's mad at me, she'll tell people we aren't related cause she knows it's technically true." She paused. "Sorry for dumping all this out on you—"

"No need to apologize. It's interesting. I'm adopted as well. I know exactly what you mean." Loki nodded in understanding.

"Wait, really? Cool. Well, I mean, n-not if you don't think it's cool, I just thought it was cool that we were both adopted, so it was like 'oh, relatable!' but…um…sorry. I talk a lot."

"Alice," Loki said, putting his hand on her shoulder, "do not worry about it. You talk just enough. Around me, you don't need to apologize just for existing."

Alice blushed. "Th-thanks."

She looked straight at him for the first time all night, and he saw that her eyes were the most brilliant blue he'd ever seen, almost to the point of violet. Somehow it fit her perfectly.

"You have beautiful eyes," he remarked.

"Thank you." And just like that, it was over. She looked away and blushed deeper. She mumbled something.

"What was that?"

"I said, 'So do you.'"

"Oh. Thank you." If there was anything Loki was often complimented on, it was his eyes. They were a light emerald green, and very observant. But somehow, coming from Alice, the compliment felt different. It felt less forced, less like someone was trying to be relatively nice to him with the knowledge of his morally ambiguous actions. It felt…_genuine_. From what he'd seen, he didn't even think she was _aware _of those.

"So…your brother's an Avenger."

"Yep."

"Does he, like, talk to the other Avengers? Is he friends with them? Or is it all business? Do you know?"

"From what I know, he talks with them. Maybe more than he should sometimes. Why? Do you want me to give them a message?"

"No, no. Just asking."

Just then, a tall girl with pale skin and dark hair stumbled over and stood in front of her. "Alice, my sister, why come to parties if you're not going to enjoy them? There's no point in—" Her eyes flitted to Loki. "Ah, and who's this? Has my wallflower of a sister finally found a handsome man to court her?"

Alice flushed bright red and waved a hand. "_He's not courting me!_ We're just talking, as friends."

"But many thanks for the compliment," Loki added.

Alice smiled slightly and her sister laughed. "Alright then, Alice. I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt. But just so you know," she said as she turned and started to walk away, "the two of you would make a _lovely_ couple." She left.

Alice covered her face with her hands. "Sorry, that was my sister, Quinn. She can be a little- like that-sometimes."

"Oh, it's fine. She seems nice."

"She's nicer when she's sober," said Alice pointedly.

"Well, you're lucky. Thor's the way he is all the time. I love him, of course, but he can be rather…trying at times."

"Um, I know on Asgard you probably had no use of them, but do you have a cell phone?"

"No. Thor has been on me about getting one, but as far as I know, he doesn't even own one himself."

"Oh. Then…a computer?"

"No. You can write me a letter though," said Loki, shrugging.

"Uh, okay. What's your address?"

"Hm. I would have to think about that actually. Would you mind if I just took you there?"

"I guess not, but—"

"Great." Loki took her hand and teleported them to the Avengers Tower, to his room. "Here we are. Avengers Tower. I do not know the exact address though."

"You…you live in A-Avengers Tower?"

"Yes," Loki sighed, "they made me live here to quote-unquote 'keep an eye on me.'" He made air quotes.

"So, um, how do I send the letter here? Do you want to just send one to me and I'll use the return address?"

"Actually…yes, I suppose we could do that. Where do _you _live?"

She told him her address and he teleported them there.

"Uh, make yourself at home," Alice said as they walked down the foyer. "Here's my room—Quinn is calling, I have to take this. Um, be right back." She left to answer her cell phone.

Loki walked into her room and didn't know how to respond when he entered. Plastered across three of the four walls were pictures of Thor. There were even some of him on Sakaar, though Loki wasn't sure how she'd procured those. He stifled a laugh looking at all the pictures. His brother would surely love this.

When Alice returned, she looked like she'd forgotten how her room had looked before she left it. "Oh my—okay, can you just please ignore everything about this room?"

Loki smirked. "Hm, do I detect a crush?"

Alice reddened. "I dunno, uh, do you?"

"And on my brother, no less. This is interesting. I wonder how he would feel about this—"

"Oh my gosh, please don't tell him. I would absolutely _die _of humiliation."

"Well, I don't want you dead, so my lips are sealed…but I can't guarantee he won't find out eventually."

"Thank you. And, um, not that you don't seem trustworthy or anything, but…you are the God of Mischief after all. How do I know I can trust you?"

"Pinky promise."

Alice raised an eyebrow. "Pinky promise? I haven't heard that since I was, like, 9."

"I'm waiting."

"Oh, you're serious? Er, all right." They linked pinky fingers.

"Good. Now that that's done—"

"Wait! Sorry, but would you mind teleporting me back to the party? I drove my car there and I kind of need it back, so…"

"Of course." He took them both back to the party and said his goodbyes to Alice as she departed and took home Thor as he was currently retching into a potted plant. "Bathroom. Now."

Then he went into his room and started writing a letter.

**A/N: Hello! I know I haven't posted in a while. I'm actually getting on that. I just liked this and wanted to share it. Hope you enjoyed. Please R&R, it means a lot! **

** -Cassie**


	2. Teasing and Talking

_Dear Alice,_

_It's me, Loki Laufeyson, brother of Thor, your friend from the party. I know that we just saw each other, but I decided I should at least write something to make sure you would get my letters. So, how are things going? Is everything all right at present? I'm doing well, though I doubt Thor is—he's vomiting his guts out in the bathroom. He always did have a minor problem with drinking too much if he got his hands on something. But that's not the point of this. Write me back whenever you can, I suppose. With love,_

_ Loki_

Loki signed his letter and put it in an envelope, then mailed it off to Alice and Quinn's address. When he returned, he saw Thor in his room.

"Loki? Do we have any ginger ale?" He asked drunkenly.

"I'm not giving you anything else to throw up. Go to bed."

"But I don't wanna!" Thor said, stomping his foot like a small child.

Loki stood up and sighed. "Really brother, it is a crying shame it's going to have to work like this. You're the eldest, you really should be more responsible. Now, off you go." He turned Thor around and pushed him into his bedroom. "Go to sleep, and when you wake up in the morning, you'll have a nice little hangover awaiting you."

Thor groaned and flopped down on his bed, crawled under the covers, and glared at his brother until he left the room.

The next morning, the sun woke Loki up, though it wasn't as if he'd slept much that night, either. It was a bright Saturday, and sunlight streamed through the window-clad walls of his bedroom. He crept downstairs to make some toast or something. The Avengers didn't seem to be up yet, and the tower was mostly quiet, so Loki was, suffice it to say, surprised when he saw Spider-Man at the kitchen table eating a bowl of Frosted Flakes.

"Peter? What are you doing here? How'd you get in?"

Peter looked up. It seemed Loki had caught him off guard. "Oh, uh, hi Mr. Loki! Um, I was here to ask Mr. Stark about some things, but he wasn't up, and, you know, I didn't have breakfast, so I-I thought I'd eat here…The door was unlocked, by the way."

"You didn't just ask him at the party?"

"There was a party? Oh, I wasn't there. My Aunt May would _kill _me if I went to a superhero party or something like that. Without asking. But, I mean, I didn't know there was a party, so I couldn't have asked."

Loki nodded. The boy's awkwardness was almost laughable. "Why do you look so scared? I don't bite. Most of the time."

Peter's face immediately tensed up again.

"Relax, I'm only messing with you. Don't be so serious!" Loki smiled. "Would you like me to relay your questions to Tony?"

"N-no, it's okay. I'll just ask him when he wakes up."

"All right. Your call." He put a bagel in the toaster, and as he waited for it to toast, Thor came downstairs.

"Good morning, brother." He glanced sideways at Peter. "What's he doing here?"

Loki shrugged. "Asking some questions to Stark, I suppose."

"How'd he get in?"

"The door, how else?"

Thor groaned and held his head. "Well, does he know any good hangover cures?"

"Well, um, actually—" Peter got up and went to the fridge, explaining to Thor how to make…whatever it was they were making.

Loki rolled his eyes. This was why he didn't go to parties. "I did warn you…"

"Quiet, brother, he is teaching me."

Loki's bagel came up. Stark came downstairs as he was buttering it.

"Morning, a—" He cut himself off. "Why's he here?"

"Oh, hi Mr. Stark!" Peter ran over to where Stark was standing. "I, uh, I wanted to ask you some questions."

"Jeez kid, it's too early for this…" They went somewhere just out of earshot and began to discuss.

"It seems like people are waking," Thor said. As if on cue, Banner walked into the kitchen, grabbed a granola bar, and left, probably to go to his lab.

Steve Rodgers came down and made some toast soon after, somehow still managing to look heroic while doing so. "Good morning, everybody." Everyone else chorused a tired "good morning," except for Peter, whose "good morning" was bright and enthusiastic.

It was a surprisingly lazy day. There were no reports, no "bad guys"—nothing. The Avengers were relieved. It gave them more time to focus on things that they wanted to do, such as working out or studying in the lab. Loki, however, was not. He was just bored. With the Avengers all there to keep him in check, and no more books to read (he'd read them all), the best he could get was watching everyone and their mishaps and waiting for a letter. Finally, the mail carrier dropped some things in the mailbox. As Loki tried to creep out of the house, Steve (without looking up from his newspaper) asked, "Where are you going?"

"Relax, I'm simply going out to check the mail."

Thor looked over from where he was trying to beat his independent ping-pong record. "Speaking of, Loki, what have you been awaiting? I've noticed you staring at the mailbox all morning. Do you perhaps have a secret correspondence with a fair lady?"

Loki felt his face warming. "No! It isn't like that. Just—it doesn't concern you." Thor smirked and shrugged as Loki went outside. There was one letter addressed to him from Alice' s address. He immediately teleported into his room and opened the letter.

_Dear Loki,_

_It's me, Alice King, sister of Quinn, your friend from the party. I don't imagine this will take very long to reach you, considering we don't live too far from each other. I'm doing good. At the time I'm writing this, Quinn is suffering of a hangover and silently kicking herself for allowing herself to get drunk. I'm sorry to hear about Thor's minor drinking problem. Tell him "hi" for me, will you? By the way, is everything going okay at Avengers Tower? Is Cap still being captain-y? And Bruce science-y? And Thor…Thor-y? I don't know. Just write back whenever. And get a phone or a computer. I could teach you how to use it. With Love,_

_Alice_

Loki smiled. Alice had written that letter for sure. It just seemed so…her. He put it down. He'd have to respond to that later.

"Who's that from?"

Loki must've jumped a foot in the air. "Thor! _Don't do that_!"

"Ooh, someone's getting flustered…! Who is this Alice character? She sounds pretty." Loki blushed as Thor looked over his shoulder. "Oh, all these years of teasing me and I can finally get you back! Ha!" He did a strange, giddy little dance.

"Okay, number one, we are friends, okay? _Friends_. Could you get that through your head, or is my moron not fluent enough? Secondly, I was…um…writing to her about advice for a phone. Because I'm getting one," Loki said.

"Finally. It took you long enough, brother."

"It took _me_ long enough? You don't even _have_ a phone!"

"I wasn't talking about the phone," Thor said, with a smug smile as he stalked out of the room.

Loki groaned in aggravation and shut the door behind his brother.

Thor was right. Not about the whole Alice thing, obviously, but about the teasing. Maybe if Loki actually _tried_ to be nice to Thor for once, Thor wouldn't see a reason to tease him "back".

When he went downstairs, he smiled his biggest smile at Thor. His brother seemed rather unnerved about this, which pleased Loki. "What are you plotting, brother?"

"Plotting? How could you think such a thing? I live with the Avengers. I'm reformed now. I haven't even done anything_ mean_ since…er…yesterday!"

Thor narrowed his eyes. "Really? Reformed? Completely? You may not be evil, exactly, but you are still the God of Mischief."

"Brother," he grinned, "would I lie to you?"

"Yes, Loki, you probably would, and that's why Thor's concerned. Personally, I am too." This was from Stark, who was reading the news at the table.

"Where's, uh, Spider-Boy?" Loki asked.

"He left. Why does it concern you?"

"Oh, no reason. Just wondering."

Stark stood up and walked over to where Loki was standing. "Alright, c'mon, arms out."

Loki put his arms out. "What? Why—wait a second, Stark, are you seriously patting me down?"

"I mean, you can see why I wouldn't trust you."

"Okay, yes, I can see that, but I assure you, I don't have anything on me. I just figured I'd try not being a jerk for once, is that so hard to believe?"

Every single Avenger in the kitchen replied with a hard, "Yes."

"It's mostly for Thor—see, he recently brought to my attention that he has, in fact, been the subject of much of my teasing over the years, and I felt it unfair to treat him that way, so I'm trying to be kinder to him. To all of you."

"Alright, buddy, don't think for one second that we're buying that—"

"Ooooohhhhh. I know what this is about," Thor said, with a smile slowly crossing his features.

"What?" Loki asked. He crossed his arms as Stark stood back up.

"It's that Alice girl that my brother's in love with. She's the one from the dance, isn't she?"

"I am _not _in love with her! Would you quit saying that?"

"Ooooh, look at him, his face is all red. Loki's got a girlfriend, Loki's got a girlfriend…" Stark grinned and spun around.

"Aargh!" Loki teleported away.

**A/N: Okay, there's gonna be some actual stuff in this story other than just Thor shipping Loki and Alice, I promise. lol **

**R&R please, it helps tons!**

** -Cassie**


	3. Listening and Learning

The following day was normal, as far as Avengers days go. There was, of course, a distress call, but they got those nearly every day. They were superheroes after all. It wasn't anything big either, like Ultron or Loki himself. He was quite proud of that attack, now that he thought about it. Sure, he had been under mind control, but it had been _him _doing the bidding, right? And anyhow, it'd been fun.

The Avengers had been out for a while, and Loki was getting antsy. With no one around to prank, tease, lie to, and no books to read or, really, things to do, it was beginning to feel like when he'd been imprisoned on Asgard when the dark elves returned. In other words, boring. And Loki _hated _being bored. This was worse than when everyone _had _been there. After some contemplation, he decided to visit Alice.

He teleported to her house and rung the doorbell; Quinn answered. "Hello—" She looked Loki up and down and smirked. "What was your name again?"

"Loki. Pleased to meet you." They shook hands.

"Just a moment," Quinn said as she turned around and shut the door. She called up to Alice. Her voice was muffled, but Loki could hear what she was saying. "Alice! Your _friend_ Loki is here to see you!"

Alice shouted something back in response that he could not make out.

Quinn opened the door back up. "She says she'll be right down. Come in, come in."

Loki entered and followed Quinn to the kitchen. "Water?" she asked.

"No thanks." They sat.

"So…you met my little sister at that party, huh?"

"Yes…?" He could tell that if Alice didn't get down soon, this was going to be a very awkward few minutes.

"What did you think of her. Pretty, right?" Quinn had a smug expression on her face and Loki knew exactly what she was trying to do.

He blushed. "I…suppose. It isn't as if she's hideous or anything."

"Mm-hm, mm-hm, and—"

"Quinn!" Alice called. She was at the foot of the stairs, dressed in a sweatshirt and jeans. She came out into the kitchen, looking stern. "Quinn, what are you doing?" She looked over at Loki. "I'm sorry, I hope she hasn't badgered you too much…"

"No, it's fine. She was just, ah, asking me some questions."

Alice looked skeptical but said nothing more. "Let's go." They went up to her room.

"Sorry about Quinn," she said. "When she sets her mind to something, there's no stopping her. A blessing and a curse."

Loki looked around. "I see your infatuation with Thor has worn off. The walls look practically bare without his pictures to cover them."

"Heh, not entirely. I-I just took down the pictures. I mean if one Asgardian can see them, who's to say another can't?"

"Fair point. I doubt he would have seen them, though, but I appreciate your caution."

"Oh! By the way, I got you something. I was…I was going to mail it over when I responded to your next letter, but since you're here…" She reached into a drawer and pulled out a small, white box.

"And what's this?"

"Open it." He did.

"What is it?"

Alice giggled. "It's a phone. Not that I don't like our letters or anything, but I just figured this would be easier. And faster."

Loki blinked. He couldn't think of the last time anyone had ever given him something like this. Usually he was getting punished or shunned or scolded. The times he'd gotten gifts from people just for the sake of it were very rare. "Uh, thank you. I have heard these are expensive, though. Did you really want to spend that money on _me_?"

"Why do you sound so surprised? Besides, I had some to spare. Anyway, considering you didn't know what it was, I'm going to assume you don't know how to use it."

"That's a valid assumption."

"I'll help you then." She took the phone out of the box and turned it on. She started explaining to him how to use it. Though Loki didn't say anything, he found it fascinating, which was strange because Asgard had much more advanced technology. Even Tony Stark had much more advanced technology. Maybe it was the simplicity that enthralled him.

Maybe it was Alice.

She seemed to like these kinds of things, because her violet-blue eyes shone as she went on about the phone's various features. He found himself smiling at her enthusiasm. Why, he couldn't tell.

"…and when the phone says that its battery is at five percent, all you have to do is plug it into this charger and wait a while. You can use it while it's charging, though. If you don't have one, the phone will die, and you won't be able to use it for a while. Sorry, am I explaining this okay?"

"Oh yes, brilliantly."

"Thanks. Uh, I think that's it…oh! But if you still like writing letters better, you should try emailing, It's like a faster letter. Texting works too, but email is more like actual mail."

He nodded. "Email. Got it."

Alice smiled. "I'll still give you the manual, just in case…but thanks for listening. I know I can be chatty sometimes about this sort of stuff."

"Why is that?"

"I guess I've just always been drawn to technology. I majored in engineering and when I was little, I built a robot."

"Oh?"

"It—it wasn't a very good one, mind you, but it was a robot. I don't have it anymore, I don't think."

"Oh. Well, that is still impressive. I commend you."

She chuckled. "Thanks."

They sat in silence for a while. Alice played with her hair, and Loki looked around the room again.

"Erm…Alice?"

"Yeah?" She looked into his eyes, for only the second time since they'd met. Loki felt himself going pink.

"I…uh…I should be getting back now," he said. "But, again, many thanks for the phone."

"Oh, okay. Bye!" She smiled and waved.

He put the phone in his pocket, waved, and teleported back to the Avengers tower—right into the middle of a kitchen full of frantic-looking Avengers.

"Loki!" Thor exclaimed. "Brother, we've been looking everywhere for you."

"Really? I'm honored."

"We thought you'd gone out to terrorize some puppies or something," Stark said.

"Why would I do that? That's weird."

"I don't know, it just seems like something you'd do."

"No, it doesn't."

"Okay, fine, whatever." Stark waved his hand. "As long as we know you're here and not killing anyone, we're fine."

"Great then," Loki said, "I'm going to my room."

"_I'm going to my room,_" Stark mocked. "Could you sound any more like a nine-year-old brat than you already do?"

"It truly is a wonder your ego can even fit in this tower," Loki sighed, and went up to his room.

As he sat on his bed, he tried to focus on setting up his new phone, but all he could think about were the butterflies in his stomach that Alice had somehow managed to conjure up just from looking at him. He did feel like a nine-year-old now; what was she doing to him?

_Distraction. You need a distraction, Loki._

He focused on the phone. Forty-five minutes later, after emailing Alice, downloading some apps, and figuring out some other random stuff, he pocketed the phone again and went downstairs.

Unusually, no one was in the kitchen aside from Thor, who didn't look up from whatever he was doing near the fridge.

"So, you've finally went out and got yourself a phone?"

Now Thor looked up. "Hm? Oh yes, brother. You really should get one. They're very convenient."

"Already got one."

"Did you steal it?"

"What? No! It was a gift, from a—a friend."

"I didn't know you had friends," Thor said, grinning.

"Hey!"

"I'm only joking, brother, lighten up some!"

"Where are the others?"

"I don't know. They just sort of…left."

"Left where?"

"I do not know, I am not with them, am I?" Thor then narrowed his eyes. "Why does it concern you anyway?"

"Oh, nothing really, it's just a bit unusual to see the tower empty…with you here."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It doesn't mean anything!" Loki almost laughed. "Why are you so upset suddenly? A minute ago, you were grinning ear to ear! I only speculated that it's rather strange for the Avengers to be gone while one Avenger stays behind."

"Oh."

Loki sat down next to his brother. "Yeah. I know I don't, uh, normally ask this, but... what's troubling you, brother? You do not normally change moods so quickly." Okay, so maybe he did care. Maybe he wasn't as evil anymore. Whatever. He'd get back on his mischievous track soon.

"…Jane," Thor sighed.

"Really? Again?"

Thor gave him a look.

"Okay, sorry. Um, what about her?"

"I don't know! I…don't know…just thinking about her kind of makes me sad now."

"Why is that?"

"We broke up a while back, there is no reason it should depress me now, but somehow it does. I guess Jane was just everything I ever looked for in a woman. With fewer attacks, I just had more time to consider that."

"_Jane _was everything you looked for in a woman?"

Thor looked at him again.

"Sorry."

"Well, _Doctor Love_, what do _you _look for in a love interest?"

"I…" He thought of Alice. "I said I was sorry."

"Exactly. You wouldn't know the first thing about romance." He paused. "No offense, brother."

"None taken." Loki actually smiled.

"Thanks for…kind of talking to me. Maybe you do have a heart." Thor patted Loki on the back and went upstairs.

Something in Loki felt good that he could sort of help his brother. He hoped he really had been lying about being completely reformed, but maybe this good guy thing could work out. He was the God of Mischief, not the God of Evil. Besides, it wasn't like he could do much with the Avengers keeping a constant eye on him.

Maybe he could learn about this whole being good business from Alice next time they saw each other. He could learn a lot from Alice, he thought.

**A/N: I feel like Loki was a little bit OOC for some of this story. If you agree and there's anything I can do to fix this, please let me know in the reviews! I'm actually really enjoying writing this and I hope you enjoy reading it.**

** -Cassie**


	4. Matchmaking and Movies

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Alice asked as she pulled out her phone. "I mean, she probably did it for a reason…"

"I can only hope it will. Thor's just been all depressed and it's my job to make other people miserable, not his." Loki watched as she scrolled through her contacts.

"Or do you just not want to admit that you care about your big brother?" Alice smirked.

"Can you just…do the thing?"

"Okay, okay!" she laughed. "And…done! I guess we'll wait and see what she says. In the meantime, do you wanna do anything?"

"Such as?"

"Oh, I dunno, whatever. Watching a movie or going for lunch or something?"

"Well, uh, I…"

"Oh, sorry if you had plans or anything! I was just wondering, is all."

"No, it's just…no one's asked me before. We can do something."

"No one's ever asked you?" Alice said. "Really? So, you've never been to the movies with anyone before?"

"No, not to my knowledge."

"That's kind of sad…n-no offense! I guess I'll have to take you then. Have you…ever even seen a movie?"

"Not really. We didn't have television on Asgard—we read books and watched plays and sports to pass the time." Loki shrugged.

"Okay, you know what? Get up. We're going to see a matinee."

"A what?"

Alice drove Loki out to their local theater and bought tickets to something that had come out recently. She bought them a large popcorn to share and they went to their seats. As they sat down, she leaned over to him. "They're showing previews now, which are basically just trailers for other movies, so you can kind of talk, but when the lights go down and the actual movie starts, you're not supposed to make any noise."

"None at all? But I thought you said this was a romantic comedy! Aren't you allowed to laugh?"

Alice smiled. "Well, yes, you're allowed to laugh and whatnot, but don't talk. Some people don't like it." She reached into the popcorn and pulled out a handful.

"Hm. Okay." Loki said, getting a handful of popcorn for himself. The lights went down, and the movie started. Throughout the film, Loki's eyes were trained on Alice. He, of course, looked back at the screen every now and then, and his eyes flicked away whenever she looked at him, but for some reason he was drawn to her, and it was a feeling he couldn't shake. Besides, he could hear the movie just fine, and what use was there staring at a screen when something so wonderful was right in front of him? In the weeks he'd known Alice, he'd never felt this way about her before…but it was something he decided he enjoyed.

As they left the theater, Alice offered lunch. "I can pay for it. I know a fantastic place not too far from here!"

They had ordered their food and were sitting across from each other. "What was your favorite part of the movie?"

"I think I liked it the best when Jack realized his love for Katherine and ran all the way to the square to tell her."

"Ah, so Mr. Dark and Brooding God of Mischief has a romantic side, eh?" Alice grinned. Don't worry, I liked that part too."

"Would you like it?" Loki asked. "Someone doing something grand and impressive to confess their love for you, I mean?" He averted his eyes and picked at his food.

"I think I would," she said thoughtfully. "I mean, it would be wonderful to know that someone cared about me that much. Enough to do something difficult for them to proclaim their admiration for me…that would be the best feeling in the world, even if I didn't feel the same about them. Luckily for Jack, Katherine did."

"Oh."

"Would _you_?"

"Oh yes, definitely."

"Anyone in mind?"

"Not particularly," he said, blushing slightly. "It'd just be nice to know that I'm appreciated."

"Hm. Well, I appreciate you."

"Really?"

"Of course! I knew who you were at Tony's party, Loki. I think everyone did. I was there during the attack of New York. I watched you destroy much of my home city. But I chose to forgive you. I don't hold grudges, and I know a lot of people do. You were supposed to be this evil, villainous guy, but you've got a heart in there, and if I had judged you, I never would have seen it. I do appreciate you. A lot."

Loki had felt himself growing redder with every word she said. "Th-thank you."

"It's my pleas—oh, she responded, look!" Alice turned her phone so that it faced him, and there was a reply to the text she'd sent earlier. "Perfect! Well, after we finish eating, you can go back, and I'll go pick her up."

"Okay…"

They finished eating, said their goodbyes, and parted ways. After Alice had driven off, he teleported back into the Tower. Thor was waiting in the kitchen. "Where were you?"

"I was out. Watched a movie."

"Ooh, with whom?"

"What do you mean 'with whom'? Why must there be a 'whom' to watch a movie with?" Loki flushed and stared his brother in the eye.

"If you say so, brother."

His phone buzzed. It was a text from Alice—_We're here._

"I've got a surprise for you, by the way. Someone's coming in with it now."

As if it was on cue, Alice and Jane knocked on the door, which Loki opened.

"Thor?" Jane asked, sounding shocked and upset. "I should have known, I…I…"

"Listen, Jane, I know we broke up for good reason, but…I'm not happy without you. You are the first and only mortal I've ever loved, and whatever I did, I will not do it again."

She appeared to be thinking. "…Okay. Thank you."

Thor grinned and they hugged.

"Aww, how touching." Alice and Loki said in unison, the difference being that Alice's voice was full of sincerity.

"Brother, I don't need your sarcasm. And thank you…er…what is your name?"

"Uh, it's, um, it's Alice, Mr. Thor sir." She blushed. Loki stifled a laugh.

"Thank you, _Alice_," Thor said, with a pointed glance at his brother. He and Jane went off somewhere and Alice sat down at the table.

"_'Mr. Thor sir_?' Really, Alice, really?" She groaned and put her head in her hands.

"Even I have to say that could have gone better."

"Thanks," she said sarcastically.

"But hey, at least you were able to get a few words out! Better than nothing, right?"

"Anyway, thanks for real, but I should be going now. Today was fun, though! We should do it more often. If you see any movies you want to watch, let me know. I'll text you later, I guess." She grabbed her coat and left.

Loki decided to use the rest of the day to relax. He got a book and started to go upstairs. As he was walking, he saw various members of the Avengers crowded around in the guest room. "What are you all doing in here?"

Stark looked up and simpered slightly before returning to what he was doing. "Placing bets," he said.

"Bets? On who? Or what?"

"It is nothing, it doesn't concern you." Thor drew a tally on one side of a small whiteboard.

"Thor? What are you doing here? I can't even tell you how often I 've heard you use the expression 'were I a betting man', followed by 'and I'm not'. And Rogers! I'm surprised! You all are supposed to be Earth's mightiest heroes, _I'm _the clandestine one here!" Loki was genuinely shocked. He supposed, maybe being the god of trickery and mischief, he shouldn't have been, but at the most, he'd expected this from Stark, not anyone else.

"Just…don't come down here for a little bit, okay?"

"…Okay…"

"Promise?" Thor asked.

Loki crossed his fingers behind his back and held up his right hand. "Promise." Thor nodded and his brother walked off, surprised that no one would have considered that he might lie.

So while a holographic projection of himself lay in bed reading _Harry Potter_, he crept back downstairs, put an ear to the door, and listened. Unfortunately, no one was being specific about anything.

"Just so you know, anyone who does not agree with me is automatically wrong. I mean, look at her! She's not gonna do it!" came from Stark.

"I wouldn't be so sure, Tony. But, you know, like you said, we can't interfere," replied Rogers.

"I'm really starting to regret putting that rule in place."

"I think I'll actually agree with Metal Man, about both things." Thor chimed in.

"I'm not at all involved in whatever this is, but it's interesting." Banner added. "Why are we being so furtive again? Like, not naming names or anything?"

Thor responded simply, "Because Loki is right outside the door."

Loki started. Caught off guard, he was too frozen to teleport away. Thor opened the door and he fell into the room. "How did you—"

"You may be 'reformed' now, Loki, but you are still my brother. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. You're becoming quite predictable. And I'm still not telling you what we were betting on. Thanks for your help with Jane, by the way."

The other people in the room began to clap for Thor, who did a small bow and sat back down, smirking. Stark shut the door on a very confused and somewhat upset Loki.

"Whatever," he mumbled, trudging back to finish _The Half Blood Prince_. Maybe once he finally finished the series, he'd have something else to talk to Alice about.

He'd always been an avid reader, and though he'd heard of _Harry Potter _before, it wasn't until Alice recommended it that he took it up. It was more interesting than he'd been anticipating. He figured he was a Ravenclaw, for sure. They were intelligent people.

"A Ravenclaw? Really? You sure?" Alice said when he told her later. They were sitting in her living room and Quinn was on a date.

"What?"

"Uh, sorry if this…offends you or anything…? But to me, you just…_exude_ Slytherin."

"They're so villainized though!"

"I know, I know! But loads of Slytherins are good people. 'Cunning and ambitious'. If that doesn't sound like you, I don't know what does." She paused. "If you wanna be sure though, you can take the quiz."

"Okay…you make a fair point. What house are _you _in?"

"Guess," Alice said eagerly.

"Hm…" He pretended to think, but it seemed rather obvious to him. "Hufflepuff?"

"Yes!" She grinned. "How'd you know?"

"I suppose you're just nice, and patient…you seem loyal and hardworking enough."

"Ah, so you have been doing your house research! Well, thank you." She looked up at him thoughtfully. "Loki, you are really tall."

He laughed. "So, I've been told."

"What's it like being, like, a foot taller than everyone else?"

"I don't know how I'm supposed to answer that."

Alice laughed. "You don't have to. It's cool."

"Good."

"Yeah…hey, have you ever played Truth or Dare?"

"Truth or Dare? No, but the look on your face tells me it's dangerous."

"It can be…wanna play it with me?" she asked with a mischievous glint in her ultramarine eyes.

"Okay…"


End file.
